BILL & JANICE BIRCHFIELD

2009 Uncle Dave Macon Days Heritage Award Winner




Janice and Bill Birchfield

The 2009 Uncle Dave Macon Days Heritage Award winners are Bill and Janice Birchfield of the Roan Mountain Hilltoppers Old-Time String Band. This award annually is presented to an individual(s) who have dedicated their lives to the preservation and promotion of old-time music. It will be presented on stage, Saturday, July 11 at 5 p.m. The Birchfield’s roots run deep in the rich music traditions of the Appalachian Mountains. They live on Roan Mountain, located in upper East Tennessee near the North Carolina border, where the band started more than 30 years ago. Today, they continue to keep alive their musical heritage that dates back to the tunes of the area’s early settlers. Initially, the members of the Roan Mountain Hilltoppers were fiddler Joe Birchfield, Bill’s father, and his uncle Creede, a two-finger, up-style old- time banjo player. Ethel, Bill’s mother, played the wash board and told stories, Bill, who played the guitar in his unique left-handed style, and his wife, Janice, on the homemade washtub bass completed the group. The band has played their energetic style of music from local barn dances to performing at the prestigious Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC. For decades, the Birchfields’ welcoming attitude toward all musicians has taught and influenced countless younger performers resulting in a living legacy of talent which knows how to play music ragged … but right.